The Warriors had to do this, though I am sure Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell explored every other way to try to save themselves from a potential financial armageddon.

There was no other way. Even this, as painful as it is for Cohan’s cash-flow projections, might not be enough, but it’s something.

As had been widely rumored, the Warriors today announced discounts in the renewal rate for every season ticket in the house, a drop of anywhere from 8 to 28%, depending on the seat.

(General rule: The worse the seat, the bigger the discount.)

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They’re calling it “Loyalty Pricing,” which is good marketing, since it taps into perhaps the ONLY thing that is keeping the Warriors’ ticket base in the upper strata of the league, after all these awful seasons.

Loyalty. Unbelievable, astonishing loyalty to the Cohan/Rowell cause. Because this is an incredible NBA market–that they are shredding to pieces with their mismanagement.

But the loyalty was eroding swiftly this year, no doubt. It’s Cohan Fatigue. Finally, after 16 years and 15 years of no-playofs… things are winding down.

That’s obvious by the huge discounts Rowell already had to institute to fill up the arena this year, and now by this STH renewal discount, which is the first I can ever remember for the “Great Time Out.”

STHs can lock in their discounts by paying a deposit on April 12, or, if they miss the deadline, they can still renew later at the same price as this year.

This is a big step for the Cohan Cash Flow Crisis. He needs the ticket-revenue streaming in, and he’s already down at least 22% this year, by an early-season report.

I’m sure Rowell/Cohan looked at the projected renewal rate for next year and it was low, low, low, unless drastic measures were taken.

So they offered the discounts, and now are holding their breaths.

What if the renewal rate STILL takes a dive this spring, even with the discounts/freeze?

Fewer STHs at a lower rate with $6M owed Don Nelson and a salary structure gummed up with long-term deals?

That would be the significant, maybe the most significant development of the Cohan timetable.

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That might force him to, at last, finally acknowledge that his only way out of this is to sell to either Larry Ellison or another group.

Or, to be fair, maybe a wave of STH renewals is what convinces Ellison to up his price just enough to get Cohan to sell. It does work both ways.

Or three ways: A STH stampede might lock Cohan and Rowell in as the Warriors leaders for another 5 years.

Here’s the press release:

WARRIORS LOWER PRICES ON EVERY SEAT FOR 2010-11 SEASON TICKET RENEWALS

“Loyalty Pricing” Allows Season Ticket Holders To Renew Seats At Prices Decreased Up To 28%

OAKLAND, CA – The Golden State Warriors are lowering the price of tickets for Season Ticket Holders in every seating category at Oracle Arena for the 2010-11 NBA season as part a Loyalty Pricing program, the team announced today. Current Season Ticket Holders, who began receiving their renewal invoices over the weekend, will be able to renew their seats for next season at 43-game price totals that have been decreased 8%-28% from the 2009-10 campaign.

“This is the right thing to do,” said Warriors’ President Robert Rowell. “We have had constant communication with our Season Ticket Holders throughout the season and we are committed to addressing their needs and concerns. We have the best fans in the NBA and we are determined to ensure that their experience as Warriors’ Season Ticket Holders is not only more affordable, but also worthy of the loyalty they have demonstrated to us over the years.”

Of the 16 price categories, 14 will realize a decrease of more than 12% as part of the new Loyalty Pricing structure, and eight (8) – or half of the categories – will see a decrease of at least 15%. The largest percentage decrease in the lower level is a 24.62% decrease in the corner sections and the largest percentage decrease in the building is a 28% decrease in the upper level.

All Season Ticket Holders who place a deposit on their seats for next season by April 12 will be able to take advantage of the Loyalty Pricing. Those who choose not to take advantage of Loyalty Pricing will still be able to renew their seats for 2010-11 at the same price that they paid this season as part of a Price Freeze program. Additionally, all Season Ticket Holders have the option to pay off their seats via an installment plan, in which they will have up to eight months (April to November) to pay their due balance.

For a full section-by-section breakdown of the decrease in Season Ticket prices being offered as a part of Loyalty Pricing, click here.

Tim Kawakami

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I just Hope that Cohan/Rowell have left enough bitter taste on the STH’s.
It would be the perfect storm if 33% of their STH’s will not renew.

I can’t wait until Cohan sells to any group.

heartinbay

still not buying until Cohan sells…

Hi

Plain and simple, this team is a joke. They are a mega-corporation looking at taking all of their fan’s money. This franchise needs new ownership as quickly as possible.

Also, Tim, you should stop doing anything with Golden State of Mind as they just put up a rebuttal piece to your last blog about firing Nelson. It’s quite atrocious and filled with stupidity and lies. Seems like it was written by Robert Rowell.

robert rowell

people still read GSOM? weird. i guess there’s all kinds of masochists out there.

i can’t fathom plunking down a hefty sum, even with the discount, to have to see this same crap play out next year. but i’m one of the boycotters. i went to a ton of games the year we only won 19, loyal to GSW proven. loyalty to Cohan/Rowell? no thanks.

Tony

Still not renewing. This makes no difference. I did laugh before I opened the envelop expecting a raise. Unexpected and at least level headed, but too little too late.

KNC

DO NOT GET SEASON TICKETS FOR NEXT SEASON!!! They lured you in now and then raise the prices with a bunch of fees that they don’t tell you up front, but it’s hidden in a disclaimer that nobody reads. A $50 ticket is really $80 after all the fees.

You can spend your hard earned money on other things that will make you much happier.

If you think you can buy season tickets and sell it off for a profit, you are wrong! There are so many people thinking this way that the buyers have the leverage. You would be lucky if you lose only 20% of what you paid for.

I repeat, DO NOT BUY SEASON TICKETS!!!

Aaron

As a season ticket holder, allow me a quick anecdote. I received the mailing from the Warriors, looked at it, tore it up, and started laughing as I thought about all the cool things I will be able to do next year with all of the money that I’m saving.

Aaron

KNC – you’re crazy. What fees? Their pricing is pretty transparent. They may be a bunch of schmucks and crappy at building a basketball team, but there is no $30 fee making a $50 ticket $80.

Jive Turkey

explain to me again WHY anyone would need season tix for a team that:
A) won’t make the playoffs
B) doesn’t sell out anyway

My understanding of incentive for season’s is to:
A) get PO tix
B) get into a sold out arena

Stan…

wow,It all sounds so pathetic. Poor Oakland. All the teams are losers year after year…and its because of the stadium,the area,the City of Oakland say the owners.
To quote the brilliant Rod Brooks,its not the arena/coloseum/city that drops the rebound,the fly ball,misses the tackle…

Not Renewing Anymore

Who’s planning to get season tickets next season?

I want to know what your reasons are for making a poor decision…

babybackribs

NO WAY I’M RENEWING. STUPID ME I EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR 2 SECONDS…MAYBE WITH AR AND BW COMING BACK AND ANOTHER YEAR WITH CURRY – ERR…WHAT WAS I THINKING. UNTIL THERE IS NEW OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT’S COMMITTED TO PUTTING SOMETHING ON THE FLOOR AND NOT THEIR POCKETS; I WILL NOT ATTEND ANOTHER GAME. WAIT I STILL HAVE 8 MORE TICKETS FOR THIS YEAR…CRAP.

slimman

I sincerely hope that nobody falls for this ploy. Boycott this joke of a franchise until these clowns are yesterday’s news…

GSW_Hoops

I still think the team can win with internal development. If that makes me a pollyanna, so be it.

Also, I apologize to everyone on message boards that I have unreasonably insulted and argued with. My irrational opinions have no merit.

SoCalWarrior

What a joke of an offer. Cohan is just looking for immediate cash flow. He’s hurting big time. Let’s stand strong and bleed this horrible person dry, make him sell, and give the fans a chance to have a winner in the W’s. Will never happen with the Cohan and his cronies. KEEP THE BOYCOTT GOING!!!

http://www.woerriors.com DNR

Note to all STHs considering renewing at this discounted rate:

Think what much better things you could buy or do with that money. Take a week’s vacation to Hawaii! Doesn’t that sound like more fun than watching the Warriors? You could buy a car, or a boat, or a wave runner, or a motorcycle with that money. You could pay off debt. You could open an etrade account and make more money, and even if you lost it all in the market, it would be more fun than suffering through another season like this.

And if you’re a glutton for punishment, you could always watch the games on TV! For free!

Jon

Cohan can buzz off. His best bet was to keep the team mediocre throughout eternity. The We Believe team woke us all up and made us realize how awesome even a modicum of success is.

The complacent-loyal-Warriors-fan-who-wears-his-lovable-loser-tag-proudly horse is out of the barn.

He can either make the team good, or hand it off to someone who will, but gimmicks ain’t gonna work anymore.

jason bourne

To STH, you can still be a Warrior fan with the money you save by not renewing. You can upgrade your home theater system and watch the Warriors on TV until Cohan is forced to sell!

Twinkie defense

Even discounted tickets get a stick in the eye from Tim… nice Tim, we can always count on you!

hibcbcbc

TK,

No mention of the Niners dumping the only quarterback in the last 8 years who could actually win a few games? (Hill 10-6 as a starter, 7-1 at Candlestick)??

Pretty awful stuff happening at 4949 Centennial.

You ought to be bashing them something spectacular. They deserve it. How does Singletary say “I want winners” when your top 2 quarterbacks are 40-80 combined record?

They want winners? They EXCLUSIVELY seem to bring in losers! How about Jimmy Raye as well?

Pacifica Slug

Hit the owner of a franchise with the only thing that they will notice. MONEY.

The only thing Cohan cares about is money, or the lack of it. The only way to voice your disgust and anger at letting our only local pro basketball team get this bad for so long is to not give him your money.

If you are worried about missing out on playoff basketball, then wait until they are close to actually making the playoffs and then sign up for season tickets.

Otherwise, it is ridiculous to reward Cohan for his careless handling of our local franchise.

Boycott. Watch games on TV if you must watch. Or go to the games if you must. Just remember that every dollar you spend gives Cohan a reason to keep the team.

Jeru415

First LGBT night (should’ve had Tim Hardaway as the honorary captain)… then deep season ticket discounts. They’re hurting for ticket sales… MUAHAHAHAHAHA

Chris Cohan is a joke.

JJ

I am speaking to YOU, Mr. STH….If you renew your season tickets after the blatant cost-cutting, talent-receeding roster moves this year, after not using the Speedy Claxton expiring contract in a trade, after 2 years post-We Believe of UNBELIEVABLY stupid moves, after 15 of 16 yrs of no playoffs….then simply put, you my friend are an EEEDDDIOOOT and deserve as much blame for this crappy franchise as Cohan does. “Loyal” fans do not help the cause of dismantling Cohan & Co. “Loyal” fans look like fools, intentionally delaying the exit of the known cause for everything wrong with this franchise.

Jeremy

This means you can get even better seats now for when they’re good in a couple years. This is very different than when the team was built around Jamison and Arenas and then around JRich and Murphy….

b00f_spl00ge

Look, the Warriors suck. Period. No more conditional statements about their output. If every Warrior were healthy, would they make the playoffs? No. It’s a joke. We’re so used to watching the Warriors play and Fitz suck so much stick that we don’t even know how good the talent on other teams is. Let me put it this way: it’s easy to list 8-10 teams better than the Warriors on paper/talent alone. Still. Give me a break. The Warriors will not make the playoffs unless a change is made.

http://chriscohansucks.blogspot.com/ Chris Cohan

Funny story:

Ticket holder I know had the Blazers TNT game up for sale online for over a month. No one ever bought it. He had to go. I had to go with him.

http://chriscohansucks.blogspot.com/ Chris Cohan

Was told Clippers season ticket lock in date is May 21st.
Draft lottery is May 19th.

It’s official:

Warriors treat their fans worse than ANYONE in the entire league.
Even the F#%$ing Clippers.

Not Renewing Anymore

The reason they set the deadline of April 12th is because they want people to sign up ASAP. They don’t want to set the deadline too early because they don’t want to look too greedy. They don’t want to set it too late because a lot of media outlets have been bashing the Warriors managements.

TK is doing it on a regular basis. Damon Bruce has made his point clear. Adam has offically said he won’t renew his season tickets.

This is not Loyalty Pricing. It is more like Desparation Pricing.

That being said, DO NOT GO TO ANYMORE GAMES THIS SEASON OR BUY ANY SEASON TICKETS. YOU WILL SCREW YOURSELF OVER!

Flunkster Dude

It’s a Great Time Out!

http://chriscohansucks.blogspot.com/ Chris Cohan

It’s a fan shake down.
“Loyalty” is for effing suckers with this team.

It’s not loyalty, it’s an abusive relationship.

http://chriscohansucks.blogspot.com/ Chris Cohan

Warriors PR has regrouped, now saying it’s FAIR to make you pay more if you wait more but want in after the team lands the #1 pick in the post-ticket-lock-in draft lottery. Which they’ll have 5th or 6th place odds in at present rates.

jason bourne

To those STH who renew and want to give me their tickets they do not use. You must meet the following conditions:
1. You must pay for my gas that I use going and coming back from the Oracle Arena.
2. You must pay for parking for my car. If you have preferred parking, then that’s a plus.
3. You must pay for dinner for two at a restaurant of my choosing including 25% gratuity.
4. You must pay for food and beverages for two at the Arena.
5. You must pay for after game food and beverages for two at a place of my choosing. Any cover charges will be included.
6. There will be no questioning of the expenses incurred on items # 1 – 5.
7. After you agree to the above, I will think about accepting your tickets. There is no guarantee that I will accept. After all, I cannot get recover the time and energy wasted from my life for going to the game. I have better things that I can do.

joe wolfe

#32 – Matt Damon

Is that all it’s going to take for you to consider accepting free tickets?

Consider my tickets coming your way! No questions asked!

Signed,

Larry Ellison’s personal assistant with more money to burn on GSW related items than Larry himself. (I piss $400M every morning before breakfast)

JW

slimman

Was that the Bourne Ultimatum?

slimman

this says it all:

Records: Warriors 18-47; Lakers 48-18

Marz

This is (please, please, please) the opportunity to put the nail in the coffin on the Cohan era/debacle.

By not renewing or buying season tickets you can force them out. Please take advantage of this opportunity.

The word “loyalty” actually started to take on almost sinister meaning when I read it in that press release – they don’t care about you.

steve

DO NOT GO TO ANYMORE GAMES THIS SEASON OR BUY ANY SEASON TICKETS. YOU WILL SCREW YOURSELF OVER!

^^^^^^^ That cannot be repeated enough.

CoHan the Barbarian

Anyone who pays for a Cohan owned product IS A FOOL.

This bloodsucking zombie has clearly show that he DOESN’T CARE ABOUT WINNING.. merely tricking nitwits who think their still rooting for Jrich and Baron.. and Nellie is still 50 with RunTMC.

Cohan has made millions off Warrior fan’s BLIND faith..
How about standing up and refusing to continue be the fool, paying to watch C-Mag shoot FTs, and D-Leaguers in a losing game of streetball??

Dubs current STHs look like shallow, little kids.
Clapping and cheering for the Monta slam, while ignoring an even easier scored basket on the opposite end of the court.. WAKE UP!

When are STHs going to realize that everyone OVER 8 YEARS OLD knows that it doesn’t matter if Monta scores an action-packed 28 pts in a loss, if Brandon Roy scores 41 in a win? GROW UP AIRHEADS!

Cohan has sold us on “rebuilding” with youth for OVER A DECADE AND A HALF!!! He doesn’t give a crap about anything or anyone but his money.

This is not you son’s CYO team.. You don’t own them anything.

–Stay Away From Cohan Owned Garbage!!!–
–SELL THE TEAM JERK!!!–

b00f_spl00ge

Bay Area fans are great basketball fans… that helped the Warriors, sooner or later, it will catch up with them… basketball fans will catch on.

Tax Man Cometh

April 12th is only a few days before tax day. Perhaps Cohan wants to know how much his loyal fans will help keep his boat afloat.

http://www.animalhiphop.com Animal

Slimman…hilarious.

http://www.robertphoenix.com dominmatrix

Shaun Hill is still waiting for a call from The Niners front office to tell him he’s been traded.

Classless group of a-holes.

http://CuriousBaggs.. Ahem

“Loyalty” rates…kinda sounds like the Warriors hired the 49er’s marketing team akin to the “49ers Faithful” bs….

http://Warriorsworld.net gswfan4ever

MONTA, MONTA, MONTA. He’s the best. Don’t trade him please.

Nabeil Mohamed

Guys do not renew! things will never change if you keep supporting these b@stards! Discount? yeah rite and for the record they’ll balance it all out…example: go up on booze, food, merchandise, etc….we aint stupid Cohan! and Screw you Rowell!

KNC

Instead of spending your hard earned money on tickets, you can spend it in other ways and improve our economy. You can buy a high def TV, buy new clothes or pay off some credit card debts. Believe me, you will feel alot better than buying tickets.

Paul Mokeski’s Mustache

True Loyalists to the cause won’t even park their car at The Oracle until these bozos sell the team. Let’s keep the financial pillow over Cohan’s face until this loser sells the team.

Stay the course.

FeatherRiverDan

Looks like we have the Scrooge on the run and for our own good we better not let loose of him this time…
I will use this and next years ST money on a beautiful entertainment center for my wife and a very large Samsung for me….
My wife and I say thank you Cohan for making the money available this year and maybe in a couple more i will be a STH again with all new everything from owner to rookie…..

very well said #36

PhillyJ

Man this press release by the W’s is probably the most desperate attempt ever to cling to their STH. I would never put down my hard-earned, back-breaking, sweat-pouring money for an inferior product or service out in the real world so why would I do it for this pathetic basketball franchise, even with this joke of a discount.

Ultimate Warrior

We are not ignorant. We aren’t blind. Insanity is doing something irrationally, repeatedly. How many times do you build a team up only to turn on your own players and blow things up?

As a fan,you can only take so much. You invest your heart and soul on players the team has made you believe are franchise cornerstones, only to see them traded for nothing.

Management has made it clear that our investment is irrelevant. If secret to business is pleasing the customer, they have ignored that. They fooled folks into renewing on empty promises and a team that was a fascade. No More! This year, I decided I would communicate my discontent using the only tool a fan truely has, not on a radio call in show, or a blog but rather by not spending my extra $2-3Gs this year on tickets, food and parking. They could have my cable money but that’s it. Maybe now they will get my message!